Father of slain Tewksbury boy dies, 85

TEWKSBURY -- Less than a week after one of three men accused of killing his 15-year-old son 43 years ago was acquitted, William McCabe, 85, died Tuesday night following multiple heart attacks.

Roberta McCabe-Donovan, one of Wiliam and Evelyn McCabe's two daughters, said Wednesday her father had been ill throughout the trial of Michael Ferreira, the Salem, N.H., man charged in the 1969 murder of John McCabe.

McCabe was admitted to Lowell General Hospital/Saints Campus on Monday, and doctors determined he had suffered a heart attack sometime in the previous 12 days.

McCabe-Donovan said her father had a second heart attack Monday night, to the surprise of relatives who thought he was on the verge of recovery.

"He was doing great when we left that night," she said. "The medicines were working, he was eating. He said, 'The food tasted good. I need a shave, have Mom bring my razor.' "

The next night, McCabe's heart stopped after a third heart attack.

"The nurse came out to me," McCabe-Donovan said. "She said, 'Your father has flatlined.' And I said, 'Excuse me? Again? I don't believe this.' "

Testifying in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn last Wednesday during Ferriera's trial, McCabe recounted searching for his son after John McCabe did not come home from a school dance.

Determined to bring his son's killers to justice, McCabe had remained in contact with detectives for years, passing on new information as he discovered it.

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"My dad pretty much committed his whole life to John's murder, finding out who did it, solving it, and eventually, hopefully, someday, justice," McCabe-Donovan said. "Calling the police every night, giving them different hints from different people. Every little thing, he'd call them."

In April 2011, prosecutors announced charges against three men in connection with John McCabe's death. Edward Brown, 61, of Londonderry, N.H., Walter Shelley, 61, of Tewksbury, and Ferreira, 59, were all charged in the case. Brown pleaded guilty to manslaughter, received no jail time, and testified against Ferreira. Shelley still faces a count of first-degree murder, but his trial date has not been set. Ferreira was acquitted Friday.

McCabe attended the trial sessions despite not feeling well. McCabe-Donovan said her father regularly had nervous tremors, but this time the shaking got so bad he couldn't hold a fork and was barely eating.

His regular physicians first thought his chest pains were indigestion and later treated him for a virus, McCabe-Donovan said.

On Monday, he was brought by ambulance to the hospital, where he and his family learned he had had a heart attack. Based on the timeline given by the doctors, it had been either during the trial or in the week before.

"His heart gave up on us," McCabe-Donovan said. "It's just been horrible."

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